The newspaper of Stagecoach Group Issue 59 Summer 2005

Stagecoach received apositive response from

the financial markets with astrong set of results for the2004-05 financial year.

The Group share price rose on theback of an excellent performance forthe 12 months to April 30, 2005, with asignificant increase in profits.

Innovation, investment and strongmarketing have all driven the strongnumbers that were reported to the City.

Analysts were impressed at the per-formance of the company’s rail and busdivisions in the UK, particularly againsta backdrop of significant increases infuel prices affecting the transport sector.

Passengers have been flocking toSouth West Trains after the introductionof new high-quality Desiro trains andthe new timetable on the network hasmeant more than 90% of trains are nowarriving on time.

The results included:• Strong passenger growth at UK

Bus both inside and outsideLondon.

• Significant uplift in passengers,punctuality and profits at the raildivision

• Big increase in turnover fromcontinuing operations in NorthAmerica, particularly at NewYork Sightseeing.

• Market-leading position main-tained in New Zealand, despitecompetition and cost pressures

• Significant increase in the fullyear dividend to shareholders

Stagecoach is also well-placed toexpand its rail portfolio and is shortlist-ed for the Greater Western, Thames-link/Great Northern and Integrated Kentfranchises.

Rail Divisionwelcomes newChief ExecutiveStagecoach Group has strengthened itssenior management team with theappointment of Ian Dobbs as ChiefExecutive of the Group’s Rail Division.

Ian Dobbs (50), who has 28 years’experience in the rail industry in the UKand overseas, is a former DivisionalDirector of British Rail.

More recently he was ChiefExecutive Officer of the Victoria PublicTransport Corporation in Australia,where he was responsible for the rail,tram and bus services.

Currently a railway managementconsultant and advisor to Governmentand the private sector, based inMelbourne, he will join the Group thismonth.

Ian will have operational responsi-bility for all of the Group’s rail interests,including South West Trains – the UK’sbiggest rail franchise – Island Line, theStagecoach shareholding in Virgin RailGroup, which operates theCrossCountry and West Coast franchis-es, and Sheffield Supertram.

He will initially report to GrahamEccles, Stagecoach Group ExecutiveDirector Rail, who has indicated that heintends to retire and step down fromthe Board in April 2006.

Stagecoach Group Chief ExecutiveBrian Souter said: “We are delighted Ianis joining the Group at what is anexciting time when we have a numberof significant opportunities to grow ourrail portfolio.

“Ian has wide rail and light rail oper-ational experience both in the UK andoverseas. His high-level managementand competitive rail franchising experi-ence will help further improve ourcurrent operational performance andsignificantly strengthen the develop-ment of our current and future rail bids.

Ian, who is from Nottingham, ismarried with a teenage son anddaughter.

He told On Stage: “Stagecoach isone of the most dynamic players in therail industry, with an excellent reputa-tion for delivering quality rail services. Iam delighted to be joining the Groupand I am looking forward to thechallenge of developing furtherStagecoach’s rail portfolio.”

Sharper focusdrives growth

Innovation, investment and strong marketing boosts performance

RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS

• Group turnover from continuing operations£1,787.6m (2004: £1,641.1m)

• Profit before tax up 14%• Earnings per share up 34%• UK Bus passenger volumes up 1.5% outside

London• Rail passenger numbers up 4.8%• Operating margins in North America up from

4.4% to 6.7%• Full-year dividend up 13.8%

Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group ChiefExecutive, said: “We have achievedstrong organic growth in our bus and railoperations in the UK and overseas,delivering on our strategic objectives forthe Group. This excellent performancehas been driven by increased invest-ment, innovation, targeted marketingand a clear focus on first-class servicedelivery.

“Our Rail division has performed par-ticularly well, benefiting from the intro-duction of new trains and a significantlyimproved operational performance. Wehave delivered impressive growth in theUK in both our provincial and Londonbus operations as a result of our KickStart initiatives, sector-leading telemar-keting campaigns and online sales. Afocus on our core markets, supported bycomplementary bolt-on acquisitions, hasresulted in further revenue growth inNorth America. In New Zealand, wherewe are the largest bus operator, we haveperformed well in a difficult market.”

Stagecoach Group Chairman Robert

Speirs added: “I am pleased that thehard work of our employees has beenrewarded with another year of achieve-ment across the Group. We believethere are significant opportunities fororganic growth and the expansion ofour rail portfolio, both of which candeliver increased value to our share-holders.”

Announcing the results, Brian Soutersaid plans were under way to introduceoptically guided buses in Cambridgewithin the next two years. He alsoraised the possibility of a megabus-style operation on the railways,using dedicated high-capacitycarriages with variably priced seatsthat could be booked on the web.

Earlier this year, Stagecoachshareholders benefited from a£241million return of capitalprogramme.

Signs for the start ofthe new financial yearare encouraging, withcurrent trading inline with thec o m p a n y ’ sexpectations.

25 YEARS ON THE ROAD25 YEARS ON THE ROADINSIDEYour 4-page silveranniversary pullout

Brian Souter – ‘A clearfocus on first-classservice delivery.’

by Steven Stewart

Summer 20052

ContactsThe Editor, On Stage, Stagecoach Group, 10 Dunkeld Road, Perth PH1 5TW.Tel: +44 (0)1738 442111, Fax: +44 (0)1738 580407

www.stagecoachgroup.comIf you have a story for On Stage, please get in touchwith your local contact below:

Stagecoach Group Steven Stewart 01738 642040

UK BusStagecoach East Scotland Lisa Henry 01383 516454Stagecoach West Scotland Allan Henry 01292 613515Stagecoach North East Kate Williams 0191 567 5251Stagecoach North West Colin Nicholson 01772 255752Stagecoach Manchester Karen Coventry 0161 276 2727Stagecoach East Midlands Phil Cartwright 01246 222018Stagecoach South Midlands Adam Rideout 01788 562 036Stagecoach East Philip Norwell 01604 676060Stagecoach West Anthony Evans 01443 687682Stagecoach Wales Anthony Evans 01443 687682Stagecoach London Benjamin Franklin 020 8477 7249Stagecoach South East Helen Martin 01243 536161Stagecoach South Helen Martin 01243 536161

Stagecoach South West Mark Whittle 01392 889747National Transport Tokens Sajda Khan 01254 680180

UK RailSouth West Trains Lisa Davies 0207 620 5892Island Line Stephen Wade 01983 812591Stagecoach Supertram Julia Shaw 0114 2759888

OverseasNorth AmericaNorth East Roger Bowker 001 201 225 7581North Central Dale Moser 001 847 390 5800Coach Canada Jim Devlin 001 705 748 1170

New Zealand Dennis Elliot 00 649 309 3500

On Stage is published four times a year. Advertising connecteddirectly or indirectly with Stagecoach is accepted. Charitable advertswill be included without charge, otherwise rates on request.

On Stage is distributed free to Stagecoach staff. Public subscrip-tions are available at £12 for one year or £20 for two years. Chequepayable to Stagecoach Group plc at the editorial address. TheEditor is unable to enter into individual correspondence concern-ing the affairs of The Stagecoach Group.

Designed by Catchline Communications Group, Scotland.

A team from Coach USA made lightwork of the annual Lincoln TunnelFun Run, now in its 19th year.

Its team of 124, organised byChristine Schulz and colleagues, wasthe largest among the 1,000 runners inthe 5km event, sponsored by CoachUSA and the New York & New JerseyPort Authority Police.

All agreed that that the event was agreat success, with employees, familyand friends having a wonderful timeand at the same time raising valuablefunds for the New Jersey SpecialOlympics.

There was an impressive turn-out of runnersfrom Coach USA.

John steps into helprevampthe bus stopsWarwickshire’s 5,000 bus stops areflourishing under the care ofStagecoach employee John Gwynne.

A bus driver for the past 34 years,John is now the first dedicatedpublicity officer for the company’sthree local depots at Nuneaton,Rugby and Leamington.

He has taken on the task ofensuring the latest information onroutes, times and fares is available atall times. As an ex-driver he knowshow important it is to providecustomers with as much up-to-dateroadside information as possible.

John (57) said: “This has alwaysbeen an issue and I am certain thatthe company is getting it right in thebest way possible.”

Stagecoach in WarwickshireMarketing Manager Adam Rideoutadded: “John is certainly starting tomake his mark with the upgrading ofbus stops on many of our localroutes. He is conscientiously imple-menting what will be an on-goingprogramme of upgrading andcleaning bus stops across thenetwork.

“It’s an important role for both thecompany and our customers as he ishelping us to deliver key informationthrough the rolling bus stop improve-ment programme.”

Meanwhile Stagecoach inWarwickshire has invested £27,000 inthe bus stop infrastructure inNuneaton.

A striking new bus stop pole withnew flags and cases will now greetlocal passengers as part of a widerinitiative called Project Diamond.

Around 70 bus stops have alreadybeen upgraded under the scheme toinclude the latest travel information.

The latest timetable informationlists the times when services departfrom each of the newly upgradedstops, which represents a big devel-opment for Nuneaton andStagecoach as a whole.

In addition, stops within the busstation will also be upgraded toinclude a map to the station, a mapof the Nuneaton network and timeta-bles for each bus service departurefrom the station.

Running to schedule

Chesterfield’s new Coach Stationcomprises the new StagecoachTravel Shop as well as spaciouspassenger waiting facilities and adriver’s rest area.

The ultra modern facility, whichreplaces the 1930s Bus Station, ispart of a £1.5 million project toimprove the centre of Chesterfield.Not only pleasing to the eye, the

new building is also practical as itsources its power requirements fromlarge solar power panels housed inthe roof.

The new Coach Station iscurrently being used by variousservices, including all StagecoachExpress routes in the area, andprovides excellent links with manylocal Stagecoach services.

Stepping inside tomorrow todayStagecoach East Midlands MD Paul Lynch, the Mayor and Mayoress of Chesterfield and leaderof Chesterfield Borough Council Ray Russell attend the opening of the new Coach Station.

by Anthony Evans

Niterider liftstop awardMansfield’s late night transport initia-tive has won the ‘Managing theEvening Economy’ award at ashowcase conference run by theAssociation of Town CentreManagement and East MidlandsDevelopment Agency.

The Stagecoach East MidlandsNiterider services beat off oppositionfrom towns across the East Midlands.

Since they were launched prior toChristmas, they have been popularwith customers and played animportant part in helping make thetown a more vibrant place as well asassisting in curbing late night anti-social behaviour.

Stagecoach has won aprestigious honour at

the National TransportAwards in London.

Gloucestershire’s Service 41, con-necting Cheltenham to Tewkesburyand Northway, was proclaimed theMost Innovative Transport Project2005.

Once a predominantly rural half-hourly service, the 41 has gone fromstrength to strength following the2003 purchase and branding of twolow-floor vehicles for the route andintroduction of an enhanced 20-minute frequency.

Backed by local advertising andextensive marketing materials,including a discount ticket offer thatwas door-dropped to 5000 house-holds, Service 41 attracted 22.4%more passengers in 2003.

Then, in 2004, to encourage evenmore people out of their cars and onto the bus, a telemarketing campaignwas implemented. Targeting over600 potential bus users, a series ofphone calls and mailings was made.

Each mailing consisted of a letter,credit size timetable and wallet,Tewkesbury Town Bus Guide and a

Soaring service winsinnovation award

free seven-day goldrider voucherworth £16. By the end of 2004,passenger numbers on Service 41had grown a further 17.8%.

The award was collected bySholto Thomas, Operations Directorat Stagecoach West.

He said: “This award is a tribute tothe dedication and enthusiasm of ourCheltenham staff who have helped totransform Service 41, resulting in astaggering 44% growth in passengersin just two years.

“Our success on Service 41 provesthat Gloucestershire residents areprepared to travel by bus if theservice on offer is frequent, reliableand comfortable; and we hope thiswill encourage the local authoritiesto work with us to enhance otherroutes within the county andpromote buses as a viable alternativeto the car.”

With phase II of the telemarketingalready under way and an hourlySunday service also introduced at theend of last year, further growth onService 41 is anticipated in 2005.

Summer 2005 3

There’s a truly international feel at theBasingstoke depot, which now boastsdrivers from seven different countries.

Operations Manager for Stagecoach inBasingstoke Robbie Hall is laying downthe challenge to other bus depots in thecountry to beat this impressive tally ofdifferent nationalities.

Along with the 120 British driversproviding a quality bus service to peoplein the South East, there are representativesfrom Holland, Poland, Spain and Italy.Hailing from even further afield aredrivers from India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

“We certainly welcome the contribu-tion to the team from our internationalfriends,” said Robbie.

“Most of them have started with thecompany as trainees and have qualified asdrivers alongside their fellow Britishtrainees and have great respect from themore experienced drivers.”

The international drivers are alsopopular with passengers as their politemanner and cheerful nature overcomesthe occasional lack of understandingdespite their competence with the Englishlanguage.

Safety starts with you! – that is themessage to bus drivers in road safetyposters produced for ROSCO’sGolden Jubilee year.

Promoting a positive driverattitude was a recurrent theme in therecent ROSCO workshop evaluationforms.

The poster tries to reinforce that adriver has to take responsibility forhis or her attitude and realise thatattitude may affect the potential foraccidents.

The Safety starts with you!campaign is the second to beproduced with sponsorship byStagecoach.

Enough copies of the A3-sized

poster have been printed to supplymore than 100 bus and coachcompanies nationwide, which entersome 40,000 drivers annually forROSCO Safe Driving Awards.

It is the latest of a series ofROSCO posters on various aspects ofsafety. The previous poster (Whichlane are you in?) focused on the needfor ongoing driver training; posterslast year addressed the issues ofbridge bashing (Stop bridge strikes),speed limits (Must I always stick tothis speed?) and obscured visibility(It’s a jungle out there!).

For more information, telephoneTony Beetham, Secretary, ROSCO on01865 775552.

Tyneside’s showpiececross-river Quayside

Transit bus service,operated by Stagecoach, isscheduled to go live thismonth.

The multi-million-pound ground-breaking project, known as QuayLink,will operate with 10 New Zealand-builthi-tech diesel-electric powered buses –the first time the vehicles have beenused on a commercial contract in theUK.

Stagecoach North East won thecontract to run the operation on behalfof Newcastle City Council andGateshead Council – and the buseswill start running in time for the start ofthe popular Tall Ships Race.

Karen Buck, Minister for Transportat the Department for Transport gavethe thumbs up to the state-of-the-artvehicles at a special preview, whichwas also attended by StagecoachGroup Chief Executive Brian Souter.

At £250,000 apiece, the vehicles aremore than twice the price of a normalbus, but they incorporate the latesttechnology. They have two sources ofpower, are emission-free and usebattery-powered technology.

Manufactured by Designline and

BritBus Tourreaches10 millionacross USAStagecoach’s association with thepopular BritBus Tour, to promoteBritish music in North America,resulted in global media coverageand exposure to an estimated 10million people.

As one of the venture’s majorsponsors, Stagecoach enjoyed itsshare of the limelight when the busembarked on a 12-day trip fromNew York to Los Angeles in March.

The BritBus Tour 2005 took alarge slice of British life tothousands of Americans during the3,000-mile journey, completed at amaximum speed of 48mph.

It kicked off in New York’sTimes Square with a Britishkaraoke session from the top deckof an accompanying Coach USAbus.

The patriotic flavour increasedin the city’s Virgin Megastore with aBritish Tea Party while AtlanticRecords artist Ellie Lawson enter-tained the masses.

Additional promotional stopswere included along the way atColumbus, Indianapolis, St Louis,Amarillo, Albuquerque and LasVegas.

The event proved an idealopportunity for BritBus to forgelinks with television and radio inboth the UK and USA.

The next planned stage ofdevelopment is to launch a larger-scale BritBus Tour USA in 2006,with pre-tour promotion and a UKband talent search later this year.

A penaltyworthmissingSouth West Trains has sent out astrong message to passengers whotry and travel without paying theirfare.

In June, the network increasedits penalty fare to £20 after theDepartment of Transport’s reviewof the penalty fare amount. Thenew fine applies to all trainoperating companies thatcurrently have a penalty faressystem.

Passengers travelling to andfrom stations in the penalty farearea without a valid ticket may beliable to a penalty of £20 or twicethe single fare to the next stationat which the train stops.

The penalty fare area coversthe South West Trains’ networkwith the exception of stations westof Salisbury, stations betweenBarnes and Hounslow (viaBrentford) and between Eastleigh,Chandler’s Ford and Romsey.

While the majority of passen-gers on South West Trains paytheir fares, the network has a dutyto make sure they are not subsi-dising the minority of passengerswho want to evade them.

The message is: buy your ticketbefore you board a train.

Cosmopolitan Basingstokethrows down a challenge

Operations Manager Robbie Hall (centre) with his international team (from left) Yusop Ali (Malaysia),Chellathambi Mohamed (India), Shaik Shariff (India), Johnson Susapillai (Sri Lanka), Vincenzo Colantonio(Italy), Fabien Rech (Spain), Genus Oke (Holland) and Artur Mieldzicz (Poland).

A different attitude to accidents…

Tyneside’s hi-techquay to the future

already operating in New Zealand,Japan and Hong Kong, the buses alsoboast sophisticated electronicsenabling engineers to ‘dial’ in bylaptop from anywhere around theworld.

The 10 bright yellow buses, bigenough for 50 passengers, will operatea mainly 10-minute service on tworoutes in Newcastle and Gateshead.

As well as providing links to theQuayside, the two routes will also linkthe central areas with major touristattractions, including GatesheadMillennium Bridge, Baltic Centre forContemporary Art and the stunningnew music venue - The Sage.

Kim Teasdale, StagecoachEngineering Manager, who is responsi-ble for the QuayLink buses, said: “Thisis a very exciting and challengingproject to be involved in.

“These buses look like nothing elseoperating in the UK at the moment.They are very quiet and smooth. Ithink passengers will be veryimpressed.”

Keith Taylor, Project Manager,Newcastle City Council, said:“Investing in this innovative and futur-

Chief Executive Brian Souter at the launch of the new hi-tech buses.

by Kate Williams

istic scheme is vital as the regenerationof Newcastle and Gatesheadcontinues.

“The QuayLink service will

transport increasing numbers ofpeople around the Quayside area,while reducing congestion andpollution.”

Summer 20054

Friday the 13th may sendshivers up the spines of

many but for staff atNewcastle’s Walkergatedepot it was more shivers ofexcitement than dread.

The Stagecoach depot was alreadybuzzing with the visiting ManchesterTrident and Barrow Solo but there wasalso a lot of interest in the modelsrequired for a planned photo shoot.

Helen Martin, Marketing Manager forSouth and East Kent, organised theshoot for Stagecoach. The idea is tocreate a bank of lifestyle photography tobe used in future UK-wide companypromotions.

The Edinburgh-based design agencychosen to produce the photography –Story – has already developed a paletteof photography specifically for the‘where you want to be’ telemarketingcampaign. The aim of this new visual

Pupils from Compton All SaintsPrimary School near Winchesterhave revelled in the chance to stepback in time.

Lilli Davies (7) won theStagecoach-sponsored day trip toAmberley Working Museum nearArundel, an attraction dedicated tothe industrial heritage of the SouthEast. The competition was part ofHampshire County Council’s‘Miracles’ environmental initiative.

The excitement began when theyoungsters hopped on a StagecoachCoastliner Xpress bound forAmberley. Dressed in periodcostume, provided by the museum,

the children toured the reconstruct-ed bus depot before enjoying a tripon the Stagecoach owned 1929Leyland Titan open top double-decker bus. Afterwards they viewedthe many other exhibits on the 36-acre site before heading home.

Bringing calmto the wildin the WestA special Stagecoach West Scotlandbus is helping drive youngsters innorth Ayrshire away fromvandalism.

The ‘up 2 U’ bus is equipped asa mobile youth club withPlaystations and an air-hockey tableand has proved very popular withkids on its tour of schools andcommunity centres.

The anti-vandalism initiative, runby the North Ayrshire EducationDepartment and the CommunitySafety Department of StrathclydePolice, also involves an interactiveplay for the primary five pupils tohighlight how vandalism is a mug’sgame and can ruin the lives ofpeople in their communities.

The children are encouraged toremember the play’s message,which is VVC: Vamoose toVandalism Club.

Apart from Stagecoach’sdonation of £2,000 to the project, itis also running a competition for thebest poster and slogan, with thewinning entry being reproduced onthe rear of a Stagecoach doubledecker bus.

Summer service aiming to replace the carA new commercial service has beenlaunched by Stagecoach inWarwickshire, introducing an excitingnew link between Coventry andStratford.

The experimental Stagecoach XIexpress service will run via WarwickUniversity, Kenilworth castle andWarwick Castle. If successful there is achance it will be repeated next

summer.Two buses, branded in a distinctive

green livery, will operate the serviceuntil September 25.

Jim Mortimore, Stagecoach opera-tions manager for Leamington,Warwick and Stratford, said: “The newservice is an experiment at the momentas we’re keen to test the water to seewhether or not people will go for it.

“Passengers will enjoy a much fasterjourney time between points on theroute and the entire journey fromCoventry to Stratford will take only anhour and a quarter.”

It is also hoped the move will bringwider environmental benefits if peopletravelling to see tourist attractions in thearea opt for the bus instead of takingtheir cars.

Passengers on the XI will also beable to buy discounted tickets fortourist attractions onboard and theservice is also useful for summerstudents at Warwick University.

A return fare between the universityand Kenilworth Castle will be £1.50 andif a ticket to the castle is bought fromthe bus driver then passengers will save£1.50 on the entrance price.

We are the very modelof modern day travel

The model drivers take a well-earned break from life in front of the lens!

Bus buzzes pupils back in time

The Compton All Saints Primary pupils get into the spirit of Amberley.

If you have been up to something that has helped your local communitythen we’d like to hear about it.

Your On Stage contact is listed on p2.

A taleto tell?

A rail eraslams shutMarking the end of an era, a slam-door train has made its last journeyto the seaside – for charity.

South West Trains ran the specialevent to commemorate thedeparture of the old units.

The train – one of the newlyrefurbished Lymington HeritageRailway stock, 3-CIG unit and theblue 4-VEP unit 3417 ‘Gordon Pettitt’– made its last ever trip on themainline from London Waterloo toWeymouth, filled with paying pas-sengers.

All funds raised from the eventwill be donated to the newLymington Hospital, which iscurrently under construction.

Graham Eccles, South WestTrains’ Chairman and ManagingDirector, said: “Slam-door stock hasbeen part of life in southern Englandfor the last 40 years and every daythey have brought hundreds ofthousands of people into London.

“Many people who have fondmemories of the old units took thisopportunity to pay their finalrespects and raise money for charityat the same time.”

library is to show what happens oncepassengers reach their destination – tothink of the bus as a means to an end.

Story was also asked to producesome shots of four core Stagecoachvehicles (Solo, Trident, Dart and MAN).

The photo shoot took place inNewcastle, which the agency recom-mended as there was a good selection ofmodels available and they could easilyachieve the mix of city and countrysideshots from there.

The final day centred on Walkergateand featured a number of models on theselected buses. Thanks go to DavidCopeland and Tommy Pilkington andthe drivers who brought the vehicles -David Cramer (South Shields Dart),Jason Garnett (Barrow Solo), KarenFairbrother (Manchester Trident) andBrian Stonely (Sunderland MAN).

More than 250 employees fromCoach USA’s Elizabeth Garage, NewJersey, enjoyed the warm hospitali-ty served up at a special barbecue.

The event was held to showmanagement’s appreciation for thededication of all Elizabeth’s driverswho operate daily in difficult con-ditions and who need to be con-stantly aware of driving safely.

Maintenance and cleaning staff,

who work hard to provide buses tothe highest standard, also attended.

Apart from tucking into thefood, many danced to music playedby a fellow employee who is a pro-fessional disc jockey. Prizes werealso raffled off throughout theevent on the garage lawn. Thethank-you card responses, sent inby many employees, showed howpopular the event had been.

Present at the event were RogerBowker, Chief Operating Officer ofthe Northeast Region; JohnEmberson, Southern DistrictGeneral Manager; Fred Sprengel,Regional Director of Safety, Security& Training for the NortheastRegion; John Reddan, RegionalDirector of Human Resources forthe Northeast Region; JimRutherford, Operations Manager,

and Al Koval, MaintenanceManager.

“It was great to see theemployees having a good time andenjoying the company of their col-leagues,” said John Emberson. “Ihope that this will be an annualevent. We look forward to a suc-cessful year with everyone’steamwork and dedication tosafety.”

Sizzling safe service earns staff a treat

A feast of fun: the barbeque proved a great success.

by Helen Martin

Summer 2005 5

Stagecoach New Zealand has embraceda greener future by using the next-gen-eration fuel additive Envirox™ across its1,000-strong bus fleet.

The move follows a successful 12-month commercial evaluation in theUK, where extensive testing of theproduct delivered more than a 5% cut infuel consumption and an associateddecrease in vehicle emissions.

Stagecoach New Zealand uses 17million litres of diesel annually so a 5%saving means 652,500 litres less fuel that

An unblemished record as adriver with the PeterboroughPetes hockey team is not the onlyreason Ray Frost has beenhonoured by the CanadianHockey League club.

As team coach driver for thelast 10 years, Ray has been agreat support to the players withhis calm and steady influence.These qualities have been recog-nised with the club’s prestigiousVince & Lottie Garvey Award inrespect of a significant off-icecontribution.

Ray, who joined CoachCanada in 1967, received hisaward at a Peterborough Petes’Awards luncheon. Aaron Garfat,the team’s Marketing Manager,said the players looked on Rayvery much as a friend, ratherthan simply their driver.

“Ray understands that most ofthe players are away from theirhomes for long periods of timeand tries to make them as com-fortable as possible,” heexplained.

“We are proud to have him aspart of our team. When the teamwins, he is the first person tocongratulate them, but when theylose, he is also the first person totry and cheer them up.”

Motoring offon a missionA Stagecoach New Zealand busis about to embark on a series ofadventures that will put itsformer daily rounds in the shade.

The vehicle was sold to theSalvation Army in Winton and isto be used as a mobile youthclub.

Instead of rows of seats, theupper deck now has alounge/classroom area withdesks, computers and a televi-sion. The lower deck now hasaround 10 remaining seats andalso boasts a kitchen area.

Icementouchedby Frost

It’s green and its all go in NZ

Transport Minister Pete Hodgson pours in theadditive that offers a greener future.

Hollywood stars climb on boardSome of the best-loved stars of thesilver screen are helping encouragemore passengers to jump on thetrain.

In an £8 million marketing blitz,Virgin Trains is using computerwizardry to allow the most famousHollywood faces of yesteryear todrive home the message that the trainis best.

Movie legends Cary Grant, SirJohn Mills, Tony Curtis and JackLemmon feature in the biggest

national rail marketing campaignsince privatisation – using scenesfrom classic train movies such asMurder on the Orient Express, SomeLike it Hot, The Railway Children andThe Lady Vanishes.

The stars marvel at Virgin Trains’125mph tilting Pendolino train, as itspeeds through some of Britain’smost stunning scenery.

Seven million people will see theadvert on cinema screens, with manymore catching the ad on TV. The

campaign also includes national andregional press, radio, outdoor andonline advertising, as well as promo-tions and direct marketing.

The Return of the Train campaigncoincides with massive growth onVirgin Trains’ West Coast andCrossCountry franchises. It links thegolden era of cinema with the speedand convenience of the Pendolinotrains, which offer onboard shops,laptop and mobile phone sockets andaudio entertainment at every seat.

Craig Inglis, Sales and MarketingDirector for Virgin Trains, said: “Wehave delivered on our promises ofnew trains, more frequent and fasterservices and these improvements arewinning new passengers every day.After committing £2billion to rail, thisground-breaking campaign willensure the British public feels proudof the UK’s railways again and thatour recent unprecedented commer-cial success continues long into thefuture.”

First year engineeringapprentices attended an

Outward Bound Centre inAppledore, North Devon,as part of their blockrelease course at S&BTraining in Bristol.

The week, held during April, wasaimed at team building, motivationand leadership. It was also the firstopportunity all 33 first years had to

Apprentices testthe team spirit

meet with the other Stagecoachapprentices from around thecountry.

Activities during the weekincluded abseiling, raft building,team assault course, climbing, teamchallenges and the infamous ‘highropes’.

At the end of the week all

A team that splashes together stays together! The first year apprentices pose for our photographer.

by Clare Willis apprentices had to give a presenta-tion on what they had learned duringthe week and how they would putthis into practice in the workplace.

The apprentices were supportedat different times during the week byPaul Lee and Mark Horide,Engineering Directors, DorothyHermiston, S/NVQ Manager, and allweek by Clare Willis, S/NVQAdministrator.

The Outward Bound Centre staff

and company representatives werevery impressed by the enthusiasmand attitude of the apprenticesduring the week and felt they were acredit to Stagecoach UK Bus.

The next event on their calendarwill be the Apprentice of the Year inManchester during August.Information is currently being soughtfrom the apprentices’ workplace,S&B Training and also from theirpeers.

Stagecoach has boosted itsmarketing team with the appoint-ment of Neil Mackinnon as Data &Market Analyst, based at the UKBus HQ in Perth.

Neil will work closely with UKBus Research and DevelopmentManager Elaine Rosscraig and theoperating companies across thecountry. He will also support theStagecoach telemarketing unitwith all data requirements forcurrent and future campaigns.

Previously, Neil worked in thepublic sector with the ScottishExecutive and in the private sectorin New Zealand, focusing on theproperty sector.

Analayst joinsmarketing team

by Dennis Elliot

has to be imported, refined and distrib-uted. In turn, transport and refinery-pro-cessing impacts will also be reduced.

Ross Martin, Executive Chairman ofStagecoach New Zealand, said: “As alarge consumer of fuel we have beenaffected by its rising costs. This innova-tion enables us to continue to offeraffordable public transport options and,

just as importantly, reduce greenhouseemissions. Stagecoach will be reducingC02 emissions by at least 1,900 tonnesevery year”.

The Minister of Transport, the HonPete Hodgson, launched the initiativeand urged more firms to follow suit.

He said: “Stagecoach has highlight-ed an area I have great interest in.Companies need to move with the timesand make positive business decisionsregarding the welfare of the environ-ment.”

Summer 20056

A Basingstoke schoolboy has beenshowing off his engineering skills tothe team at Stagecoach South East.

During his week’s work experi-ence, Chris Herrington soimpressed the Stagecoach team of21 engineers, body fitters andcleaners that Engineering ManagerGerry Fisher offered him a full timeapprenticeship when he leavesschool in the summer.

“Chris has proved during histime with us that his heart and soulis in the job,” said Gerry “We aredelighted that he has accepted ouroffer of the four-year apprentice-ship.”

Chris admitted that he has someknowledge of motor mechanics ashis father is a self-employed carmechanic. However, his experiencedidn’t run to working on anythingquite as big as double and singledecker buses.

Pole positionon the trackStagecoach in South Wales is theproud sponsor of Wales’ premiermotorcycle race meeting in 2005 –the Aberdare Park NationalMotorcycle Road Races.

This long-established two-dayfamily event, organised byAberaman Motorcyle Club, drawsup to 10,000 visitors to thewoodland circuit in Aberdare Park.

Attracting some of the biggestnames in British motorcycling, therace action includes classes from50cc to 600cc as well as single andquad contests.

Stagecoach is using the event tohighlight recruitment opportunitieswithin the region and promote theAberdare/South Wales busnetwork.

Start spreadinBig Apple’s newest tourist buses honour an Am

Coach Canada has taken delivery of a new $7m fleet of15 state-of-the-art coaches.

The new 56-seat coaches are being introduced onthe 570km Toronto-Kingston-Montreal route, which is akey corridor for the business with excellent potential forfuture growth.

Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Brian Souter andJim Devlin, Coach Canada President, launched the newvehicles with special introductory fares for customers.

“Coach Canada remains firmly committed to

providingToronto-Know enjo

Jim adthe two Coach Caarrive in hassles of

The nand bette

Coacharound 40in the Toalso a ma

One of the new state-of-the-art coachesfor the Toronto – Montreal route.

The parade of 3 of the new Alexander-Dennis Double Deckers led by New York Scottish Pipes & Drums.

$7m fleet of new coach

Schoolboy’sskills earnapprenticeship

History? It’s apiece of cake!Over 100 years of motoring historywere celebrated at the Portsmouthbus depot in June as the Big BusShow got into full swing.

The event, which raised £1,300for The Rowans Hospice inPurbrook, was organised to com-memorate the 90th anniversary ofSouthdown Motor Company andthe 25th anniversary of Stagecoach.

Management trainee AlexHornby arranged buses from mostof the 16 companies operated byStagecoach across the UK as well asmany vintage buses in the greenand cream livery of Southdownfrom various clubs and privateowners. Visitors also enjoyeddifferent activities, stalls anddisplays of bus memorabilia.

One of the highlights of the daywas the cutting of a bus cake bySouth East Traffic CommissionerChristopher Heaps, StagecoachRegional Managing DirectorAndrew Dyer and VIP guests.

Summer 2005 7

ng the news…merican hero New York City’s tourism

industry has had a$10million boost fromStagecoach.

The unveiling of a new fleet ofopen-top double decker buses washeld at a celebration at TimesSquare and the event also honouredthe US’s most decorated militarychaplain, Father Frances PatrickDuffy.

The hugely popular New YorkSightseeing operation from GrayLine will see 20 new open-topdouble decker vehicles on thestreets of Manhattan. The newTransBus Enviro500 vehicles followthe introduction of 40 TransBusTrident open-toppers five yearsago, which transformed the qualityof the service.

Tourists – many of them fromBritain – snap up the wide range ofNYC sightseeing tours, which wereexpanded to include the NYCShowbiz Insiders Tour, Three-DayVIP Package, Coney Island Day Tripand a host of other exciting NYCpackages.

Equally exciting, the first Enviroof this new fleet was named ‘FatherDuffy’, in honour of the legendarychaplain.

Father Duffy was a militarychaplain and priest in the TimesSquare area in the 1920s, andserved the theatre districtcommunity for over a decade. Hebecame US’s most celebrated armychaplain in the Great War. He was

g fast, frequent and friendly services on theKingston-Montreal route and customers canoy luxury travel,” said Brian.dded: “With air travel prices on the rise betweencities, and gas prices reaching record highs,anada is the affordable alternative. Travellersthe downtown core and avoid the airport

f security checks and pre-flight wait-time.”new coaches have improved fuel consumptioner environmental performance.h Canada employs 800 people and operates00 vehicles in Canada. It is the biggest operatororonto area, with a 25% market share, and isajor transport provider in Montreal.

Bryony takesup new MD positionBryony Chamberlain has beenappointed as Managing Director ofStagecoach Warwickshire.

Formerly Operations Director atStagecoach West Scotland, she tookover at Warwickshire in May whenoutgoing Managing Director JamesFreeman left for Stagecoach East.

The youngest managing director inStagecoach’s UK Bus Division, Bryonyjoined the graduate training scheme in1996 after gaining a BSc in mathemat-ics from Durham University.

After training with Stagecoach EastMidlands, she quickly progressed toAssistant Operations Manager inManchester, Operations Manager inAldershot and Basingstoke and thenDivisional Traffic Manager inSunderland. Since 2002, she has beenOperations Director of West Scotland.

In Warwickshire, Bryony will beresponsible for Stagecoach’sNuneaton, Rugby and Leamingtondepots, with some 180 buses andcoaches and 400 staff.

Les Warneford, Managing Directorof Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “I amdelighted Bryony is taking up thisimportant position. It is a credit to herability and enthusiasm that shebecomes our youngest managingdirector.”

Queen honoursDougie’sloyal serviceChorley driver Dougie Bailey, whowas awarded an MBE for services tothe bus industry in the Queen’s NewYear Honours, has been presentedwith his award.

Dougie has worked in the industryfor 43 years and at the Chorley Depotsince 1970.

He is well-known across the UKfor his work with the TGWU, RibbleCentral Negotiating Committee andStagecoach Cab DesigningCommittee. He is also a StagecoachPensions Trustee and plays an activerole in the UK Bus Driver of the Year.

Buses also occupy most ofdevoted Dougie’s spare time as he isheavily involved in Ribble BusPreservation Trust. Last yearStagecoach North West ManagingDirector Nigel Barrett ‘sold’ prototypeLeyland Olympian 2100 to Dougie forthe princely sum of £1 for donation tothe Trust.

One of the recent highlights of hiscareer was when he worked at theBow garage in East London drivingRoutemasters on the No.8 routeshortly before they were de-commis-sioned.

Dougie receives his special award from HerMajesty The Queen.

“These new vehicles shallserve the visitors of NYC

well. This is a very specialtime for New York City

and its tourism industry.”

Tom Lewis, President of Gray Line

“We are delighted to havewon repeat business from

Stagecoach for itsdemanding operations in

North America.”

David Quainton,Sales Director, Transbus

International

The Dedication ceremony (left to right.) Cristyne Nicholas, President & CEO, NYC & Company; William Castro, Manhattan Borough Commissioner of Parks& Recreation; Sir Philip Thomas, British Consul-General; Tom Lewis, President, Grayline New York; Major General Joseph Healey, USA (Ret) 69th Regiment;Tim Tomkins, President, Times Square Alliance; Father Joe Kelly, St. Malachy's, The Actor's Chapel

hes for Canada

always near the heaviest fighting,putting himself in danger as hemoved from unit to unit. His deco-rations included the Distinguished

Service Cross and the DistinguishedService Medal.

“It is an honour and a privilegeto have our first Enviro named after

Father Duffy, who constantlyreminds us of how special this cityis,” says Tom Lewis, President ofGray Line New York Sightseeing.“These new vehicles shall serve thevisitors of NYC well. This is a veryspecial time for New York City andits tourism industry.”

The triple-axle Enviro500s have82 seats – 53 on the upper deckand 29 in the air-conditioned lowersalon, which also features tintedglass. Space has been allocated fortwo wheelchairs in the lower deck,with access for passengers with dis-abilities via a powered ramp in thefront entrance of the two-doorbuses. A three-camera CCTV systemensures passenger safety, withcoverage of the top deck, thecentre exit door and the areabehind the bus when reverse gearis engaged.

The new vehicles are slightlywider than the existing Tridents –2.55m instead of 2.5m – givingmore internal space. They arepowered by the latest Cummins330PS EPA engine with exhaust gasrecirculation.

David Quainton, Sales Director,TransBus International BodyDivision, said: “We are delighted tohave won repeat business fromStagecoach for its demanding oper-ations in North America.

“This order builds on the longrelationship between Stagecoachand our Scottish plant in Falkirk,which has been supplying newbuses to the group since 1987.”

by Roger Bowker

Summer 20058

DemandpromptsSundayserviceStagecoach in Warwickshire hasbroken new ground in Rugby byintroducing a Sunday service for thefirst time in the town’s history.

The service began in June andruns every half hour on the popular‘Rugby 4’ route.

In response to a growth indemand, the weekday freq-uency onRugby 4 will be increased from 15minutes to 12 minutes, making fivebuses an hour in each direction.

Newer buses with additional low-floor capacity will soon replace thecurrent models, providing a boost forthe many mums with pushchairs whouse the service.

In addition another popular routewill get low floor buses for the firsttime, increasing the accessibility of thetown centre for more people.

Stagecoach Marketing ManagerAdam Rideout added: “These twodevelopments are really significantand show our commitment to thetown for improved bus services. Boththe new Rugby 1 and 4 will bebranded and all roadside infrastruc-ture will be upgraded.”

Public transport in New Zealand’s capital city gota new look recently with the delivery of the firsttwo upgraded trolley buses to StagecoachWellington.

With a striking, futuristic appearance, the newversion preserves the environmental benefits theelectric trolleys deliver.

The upgraded trolley is the Super Low Floor(SLF) Bus with a wheelchair access ramp and analuminium body, which weighs less and will

likely reduce the incidence of dewirement. Thenew bus also ‘kneels’ to the kerb to assistpassenger loading.

Among the many other benefits offered by thenew trolley are an improved braking system,better signage and a new auxiliary system thatwill improve bus reliability.

The SLF buses are a welcome addition to StagecoachWellington’s fleet.

Stagecoach has thrown its weightbehind solicitor Nick Marshall’scharity cycle from Land’s End to JohnO’Groats in seven days.

The firm will demonstrate itssupport by having a Standard RedVLT Routemaster double decker busfollow the intrepid cyclist during theentire Lancashire stretch of hisjourney.

For the past two years, Nick hasset himself a challenge for charity andto date has completed marathons inLondon and Paris.

By completing the 864-mile trip inseven days, he aims to raise £20,000for the National Children’s Home,which assists children from vulnera-ble and excluded backgrounds.

You won’t be mad getting off your trolley

Nick’s cavalryon standby!

SplendidserviceCongratulations go to Stroud TravelShop’s Patricia Goodchild forwinning an Extra Mile Award,presented to her by Gill Silsbury,National Express Key AccountManager – South.

She was chosen for the awardbecause of her first class customerservice and impressive sales record.

Stars in their eyesThe people in a Kent district have beenseeing stars – not heavenly bodies, butthe livery on nine new midibuseslaunched by Stagecoach.

Stagecoach has invested a further£750,000 in the Thanet Stars service,which builds on the success of theThanet Loop service launched lastOctober.

The midibuses, complete with dis-tinctive livery, will replace existingvehicles on services in Margate andRamsgate, providing new links toWestwood Cross. The fleet, with SuperLow Floors, will offer easy access for

wheelchair users and parents withbuggies.

Dr Stephen Ladyman MP, MinisterOf State For Transport and the MP ForSouth Thanet, cut a specially madecake at a launch ceremony held inJune at the recently opened Bus Hub atthe Westwood Cross Shopping Centre.

Paul Southgate, Stagecoach’sManaging Director in East Kent, said:“The Thanet Loop has helped to make

public transport more accessible andattractive to local people and the proofis the increasing numbers of journeysbeing made by bus in Thanet. We’veworked with our partners in theThanet Quality Bus Partnership toimprove buses. This new investment isthe next stage of putting an excellentpublic transport network in place andshows the confidence that we have inthe area.”

A star is born: The specially-designed Thanet Starscake was a treat at the launch ceremony.

Specialeffortto aidathletesStagecoach backed thissummer’s Special Olympics inGlasgow with £20,000 oftransport sponsorship.

The company was responsi-ble for transporting some 2,500athletes as well as their coachesand families to and from the 11venues during the Great BritainNational Summer Games from2-9 July.

Steve Stewart, StagecoachGroup’s Head of Media andPublic Affairs, said before theevent: “We are delighted to beproviding the transportation tothe athletes, coaches andfamilies taking part in what willbe a great sporting occasion.

“Every year, Stagecoach andits people help hundreds of ini-tiatives that benefit all sectionsof the community. The SpecialOlympics is a fantastic causeand we wish all the competitorsevery success.”

Games Director GordonMcCormack said: “Organisingtransport for several thousandpeople across several sites is alogistical nightmare. WithStagecoach’s kind donation, wehave overcome that hurdle andare very grateful for itssupport.”

Nineteen teams fromthroughout Great Britain tookpart in the event, with eightteams from Scotland, one fromWales and ten from England.

Special Olympics GreatBritain, set up in 1978, reachesout to the 1.2 million people inthe UK with a learning disabili-ty. The organisation enablespeople with a learning disabilityto use sport to acquire confi-dence, social and life skills.

Actress and soap starBarbara Windsor

launched Stagecoach’sinvestment in a new£4million fleet of state-of-the-art buses for Carlisle.

It is a major boost for bus services inthe city only six months afterStagecoach’s entire fleet in the area waswritten off following some of the worstfloods to hit the north-west of England inliving memory.

The 39 new low-floor vehicles willmake all city services in Carlisle easyaccess for the elderly, people with dis-abilities and parents with youngchildren.

Stagecoach has given the Carlisle fleeta makeover, with new-look citi brandingand better bus stop and timetable infor-mation for passengers, as well asreducing fares for the next two months.

Star launches £4m bus fleet

The company has also launched amarketing campaign targeted at 35,000households in the city, offering passen-gers discount travel to encourage morepeople to take the green option of thebus.

Barbara Windsor, whose father wasa bus conductor, joined StagecoachGroup Chief Executive Brian Souterand Stagecoach North West ManagingDirector Nigel Barrett at Carlisle railwaystation at the launch, which featured apipe band and street entertainers.

“I know how important bus servicesare to the local community and thefloods that hit Carlisle at the turn of theyear were horrendous,” said Barbara.

“These brand new buses are goingto make a real difference to localpeople.”

Bubbly Barbara Windsor helps launch Carlisle’s state-of-the-art fleet.

Nigel added: “It’s not that longago that we were surveying theremains of our waterlogged fleetunder five feet of dirty water but,only six months later, bus services inCarlisle are being transformed.

“This multi-million-pound invest-ment in brand new accessible busesis a tremendous vote of confidencein our customers, our employees andthe city of Carlisle.”

Brian said: “We are alreadyrunning buses in the city at frequen-cies of up to every seven minutesand these new buses will mean itmakes even more sense to catch thebus.

“People across the country aregetting back on board our buses,particularly where they see conges-tion increasing on our roads, and weare extremely excited about thefuture of services in Carlisle.”

by Colin Nicholson

Summer 2005 9

A great time was had by all whenMorecambe depot threw its doors opento the public one day in May.

Even the bad weather couldn’t keepthe crowds away from what turned outto be another highly successful openday at the depot.

A variety of events took place toensure that there was something for allages to enjoy. Children (and a fewadults!) had a great time on the bouncycastle, while visitors were also able to

have their photographs taken in front ofa bus with a destination blind of theirchoice, which proved very popular!

An assortment of enthusiasts’ andsuppliers’ stalls and the chance to viewand travel on many vintage buses addedto the day’s entertainment.

Engineering Manager Jim Speed andAssistant Operations Manager MalcolmO’Halloran and their staff were on handall day to ensure everyone had a funday.

Reaching the heart of the communityStagecoach Devon agreed in aheartbeat to support Exeter residentsparticipating in the British HeartFoundation’s ‘Hearts First Great WestWalk’.

More than 300 people walked theperimeter of the city for the sponsoredevent, which aimed to raise around£15,000 for the nation’s heart charity.

Participants could either walk six,eight or 13 miles. Stagecoach Devonprovided a bus service between theshorter distances and supported tiredwalkers after they had run out ofsteam.

Stagecoach also offered marketingsupport by donating LED advertisingspace and on-bus poster positions.

Trevor Boyland, Ken Hawkins andAndy Bradford from Stagecoach Devonworked as bus drivers, marshals andregistration desk officials on the day.

Customer Services Manager, MarkWhittle, said: “Although ExeterLeukaemia Fund is our charity of theyear, we were happy to offer thissupport as many members of our staffand their families have, in one way oranother, been supported by the BritishHeart Foundation in the past.”

Jessica Boston, of the British HeartFoundation, said: “It has been fantasticworking with Stagecoach on this eventand we are grateful for all its supportand hard work.”All aboard – Stagecoach lends support to the charity hike.

A display of vintage Ribble vehicles

The Morecambe, the merrier Queen honoursStagecoachpolicy guru

Stagecoach UK Bus Head ofCommercial Policy Peter Nash hasbeen made an MBE in the Queen’sBirthday Honours List.

Peter, who has a career in publictransport spanning 35 years, wasgiven the honour for his services tothe bus industry.

Starting out as a managementtrainee with the National BusCompany in 1969, Peter spent fouryears in Yorkshire before moving onto join the Tyne and Wear PassengerTransport Executive.

During the period leading up tothe opening of the Metro system in1981, he played a major role in thedevelopment of the integration of busand Metro services in Tyne and Wear.

In 1986, when bus services werederegulated, Peter took up the role ofCommercial Director of BuswaysTravel Services Limited and helpedensure the successful transition ofBusways into a private operator.

Three years later, Peter was adirector of the company that success-fully completed a management/employee buyout at Busways and in1994 saw the company join theStagecoach Group.

During his career, Peter has beeninvolved in a number of major pio-neering developments in publictransport, including being a founderdirector of Network Ticketing Limited– the first multi modal ticketingcompany established outsideLondon.

In 1999, Peter became chairmanof the newly-formed North EastTransport Information Service and heis also chairman of ITSO (IntegratedTransport Standards Organisation).

Shortly after moving to the NorthEast, Peter became a member of theregional Confederation PassengerTransport (CPT) committee and in1995 became the Stagecoach repre-sentative on the CPT Council. He alsorepresents the Group on the BusCommission.

In 1999 Peter left the North East tomove to Macclesfield. He continuedto work for Stagecoach Group oncommercial issues as part of the UKBus team and in 2000 took up therole of Commercial Director forStagecoach Manchester.

Peter, who now also providescompetition compliance advice to theUK Bus Division, has also played anactive role in the community and inrecent years became a Justice of thePeace.

Peter Nash.

Winner Tom breakswith traditionNew York’s Rockefeller

Centre hosted The BigApple Chapter of theHospitality Sales andMarketing AssociationInternational (HSMAI) 2005annual awards in June.

Present at the glittering black tieevent were employees nominated forthe prestigious title of GeneralManager of the Year, Sales andMarketing Executive of the Year andHSMAI Professional of the Year.

However, new ground was brokenthis year when the first non-hotelcandidate was crowned HSMAI BigApple Chapter 2005 General Managerof the Year. And winner Tom Lewis,General Manager of Gray Line NewYork Sightseeing, was delighted withhis award.

He said: “As we all know, hospital-ity encompasses many industries:hotels, attractions, theatres, restau-

rants, shops, sightseeing and trans-portation.

“All of these groups share acommon denominator – to providevisitors with the best possiblememories of their stay in our great city.Being the first non-hotel recipient ofthis special award makes the recogni-tion all the more important to me.”

HSMAI is a professional associationwhose members are committed to thesales, marketing, management,education and planning disciplineswithin the hospitality industry.

Criteria for the General Manager ofthe Year Award are: an establishedcareer of involvement, commitmentand achievement within the hospitalityindustry; recognised as both an out-standing industry and communityleader and admired and respected fortheir professionalism and dedicationby peers and employees. Tom Lewis proudly displays his award for General Manager of the Year.

by Mike Alvich

Summer 200510

Banbury teamforges aheadDrivers at Banbury Depot inOxfordshire have delightedOperations Manager TrevorBayliss by achieving their NVQLevel 2 in bus driving.

With 18 out of the 26 driversnow vocationally qualified,Banbury is well ahead ofschedule. Trevor’s other depotat Witney is also forging aheadof schedule with a current passrate of 60 per cent.

Stagecoach in OxfordshireNVQ assessors KeithBroadbury and Tim Fuller arenow at Witney.

Makinghis MarkCongratulations to MarkSedgwick, a fitter atHartlepool, who has attainedhis NVQ Level Three.

Mark joined Stagecoach asan apprentice in 1982 andsince completing the NVQ hasjoined the Institute of theMotor Industry as an associatemember.

He was presented with hisnew qualification certificate byAlan Richardson, EngineeringManager for the Hartlepooldepot.

Stagecoach Chief Executive BrianSouter recently stepped in to boost thefund-raising efforts of Inverness driverAlex Mackenzie.

Alex is due to participate in a five-day trek in Peru to raise vital funds forthe Highland Hospice. To secure aplace he must raise £2,500 and hadrecently hit the half way mark inreaching his target.

Now, on Brian’s recommendation,the Charitable Committee has donated£1,000 and pushed Alex’s total beyond

Waterdenleadsthe wayEvery staff member at WaterdenRoad garage is now BTECtrained, leading the way withinStagecoach London.

Transport for Londondeveloped a unique trainingprogramme to improve drivingand help employees managecustomer requirements.

Classroom training involvesa five-stage syllabus and isconducted over two one-dayworkshops.

Topics covered include anintroduction to the bus industry;operating bus services; health,safety and security; drivingskills and working with others.

One day is devoted to dis-ability awareness to enhancetheir understanding.

Drivers are assessed on allareas of the BTEC exam. Thosethat achieve the requiredstandard receive a Level 2Business and TechnologyEducation Council (BTEC) qual-ification, which is nationallyrecognised, a badge and certifi-cation.

The latest group of bus drivers fromStagecoach in East Kent & Hastingshas qualified with an NVQ level 2 forTransporting Passengers by Road.

More than 200 drivers out of 614have now taken the voluntarycourse, aimed at enhancing drivingand people skills, offered byStagecoach. The next group,exceeding 50, has already startedwith more ready to follow, so NVQCoordinator Bill Webb and his fellowassessors Keith Locking, Bob Baileyand Dick Stacey certainly have theirwork cut out!

Paul Southgate, Stagecoach’sManaging Director for the regionjoined Bill at an awards evening topresent certificates to each of the 23drivers from depots in Ashford,Dover, Canterbury, Folkestone,Hastings, Herne Bay and Thanet.

“It is all about striving to providea high standard of service and carefor our customers and the NVQcourses help individuals to developtheir skills,” said Paul. “We now havemany other staff following theirexample.”

Queuing up for qualification

Top marks: Paul Southgate (left) and Bill Webb (far right) are pictured with some of the NVQ recipients.

Boost for Alex’s Inca trek

Alex savours the stunning scenery on the GreatWilderness Challenge 2004.

the required target. The generous boostbrings the total donated by thecompany to £1,200.

Alex said: “I was completelysurprised but very grateful to receive afurther cheque of £1,000. On behalf ofthe Highland Hospice, I would like tosay thank you very much to Stagecoachfor its generosity towards this very

worthwhile cause.“Although I have now surpassed my

initial fundraising target, I shallendeavour to continue raising as muchas possible before leaving for Peru inSeptember.”

If you would like to help Alex in hisquest to raise money for the HighlandHospice, contact him on 01463 790358.

Body fitter Kevan Ross is thelatest Stagecoach bus engineer togain NVQ Level 3 certification forMaintenance of AutomotiveVehicles.

One of 21 engineers, bodyfitters and cleaners who maintainthe buses at the company’sBasingstoke depot, Kevan gainedthe qualification for his bodycladding skills. The part-timecourse involved both a writtenand practical syllabus and tookhim six months to complete.

The Basingstoke engineeringteam service and maintain 72single and double decker buses.The Department of Transport reg-ulations require servicing every 28days but every Stagecoach bus ismechanically checked andserviced every 21 days as part ofthe company’s national policy.

On course for celebrationsFour members of the Stagecoachteam in Winchester cracked openthe bubbly recently to commemo-rate achieving significant mile-stones in their careers.

Drivers Paul Hayward, MikeHiles, Tony Rafferty and PaulDuke all achieved their NVQLevel 2 for TransportingPassengers by Road after sixmonths of studying, practicaltraining and assessments.

So far, 29% of the 100 driversin Winchester have taken thevoluntary course provided byStagecoach as a way of enhancingtheir driving and people skills.

Nigel Deacon, OperationsManager for Stagecoach inWinchester, said he was delightedmore drivers have embraced thetraining.

He added: “It is all aboutstriving to provide a high standardof service and care for ourcustomers and the NVQ courseshelp individuals to develop theirskills. We now have many otherstaff following their example.”

(From left) Nigel Deacon presents an NVQcertificate to Paul Hayward, joined by NVQAssessor, Ian Dunster and drivers MikeHiles, Tony Rafferty, Paul Duke.

Kevan gains certification One of the longest serving drivers at

Dumfries depot has retired after 35years service.

Donald McKay has handed in hiswaybill for good.

A popular and well known face in

the town, Donald has spent most ofhis career on long-distance routes,working on the London route as wellas Highland tours before finishingout his time on the Glasgow Expressservice from Dumfries.

Dumfries bids farewell to Donald

Donald (centre) is pictured with his wife Maureen at a presentation dinner with formerStagecoach colleagues, (from left) Eric Johnstone, Shop Steward, Hugh Fowler, DumfriesOperations Manager and Alex McSorland, Ayr Operations Manager.

The NVQ curriculum nowforms an important part of thecompany’s ongoing training andstaff development programme.

Kevan’s studies have paid off.

Summer 2005 11

The annual long service presentationdinner, held at Hassop Hall Hotel, nearBakewell, Derbyshire in March, was aspopular as ever.

During 2004, 28 Stagecoach inDerbyshire employees achieved qualify-ing periods of long service. Manyattended the function with their partnersto be presented with their awards.

Their total service came to 865 yearsservice.

East Midlands

Stagecoach North West paid tribute to its longserving employees and retirees at a specialdinner in Penrith in April.

A total of 27 people cracked open thechampagne at the North Lakes Hotel in theknowledge that they have clocked up a stag-gering 852 years of unbroken service

Kirkcaldy’s Strathearn Hotelwelcomed Fife and Perth awardwinners, while the north-eastworkers enjoyed their ceremony atAberdeen’s Patio Hotel.

Both events were an idealopportunity for drivers to receivepraise for gaining Road PassengerTransport Level 2 qualification.Engineers were also congratulatedon achieving qualifications inMaintaining Automotive VehiclesLevels 2 and 3.

Robert Andrew, Deputy

Managing Director for StagecoachScotland, said: “Working towardsrecognised qualifications forms asignificant part of the working dayof many employees. It is importantto give credit to those who haveachieved qualifications throughoutthe past year and continue tosupport and encourage this voca-tional training”.

The class of 2005 was:

Perth Driving Staff: Alexander

Scotland celebratesstring of SVQ successes

North West

The Stagecoach North West stalwarts receive well-earned praise.

Perth drivers receiving their SVQ awards withDeputy Managing Director of StagecoachScotland, Robert Andrew (front row, centre)and Operations Manager of Stagecoach in Perth,Robert Robinson (front row, second from left).

Perth and Fife engineers receiving their SVQawards with Deputy Managing Director ofStagecoach Scotland, Robert Andrew (front row,second from right) and Engineering Director ofStagecoach in Fife, Sandy Brydon (front row,centre).

Fife drivers receiving their SVQ awards withDeputy Managing Director of Stagecoach Scotland,Robert Andrew, (front row, centre) and OperationsDirector of Stagecoach in Fife, Doug Fleming (frontrow, second from left).

Dedicated Stagecoachemployees recently

celebrated attainingScottish VocationalQualifications (SVQs) ataward ceremoniesacross the country.

Workers from Perth, Fife andthe north-east gathered togetherat various venues to reap therewards of months of hard workand devotion to career develop-ment.

East Midlands’ annual long servicepresentation dinner at HotelElizabeth Hull, North Ferriby in Aprilwas a most successful and enjoyableevening .

During 2004, 33 employeesachieved qualifying periods of longservice: many of them attended the

function with their partners andwere presented with theirawards by Les Warneford, UKBus Managing Director.

Their total years of servicecame to an amazing 1,040.

40 years’ service – MarkWinterton, Grimsby; WilliamChapman, Grimsby; AlwynButtle, Hull.

35 years’ service – DavidRattray, Brian Sutcliffe, PaulAbbott, all Grimsby; RonaldLloyd, Allan Rogers, RobertDrewery, Alan Hunter, MichaelPearson, Tony Bray, all Hull.30 years’ service – KevinMurray, James Cork, RaymondSnell, Keith Charles, JamesBavin, Bryan Doyle, RobertJarvis, David McIntyre, all

Grimsby; Norman Gadie, JohnWilliams, Joseph Kemp, allHull.25 years’ service – RogerMacDonald, David Winder,William Pattison, Colin Fox,Stuart Smith, all Grimsby;Raymond Thompson, RaymondWindle, Paul Craggs, DavidThompson, Colin Wilson,Frederick Mills, all Hull.

Long Service Awardsbetween them.

Stagecoach Holdings’ UK Bus DivisionManaging Director, Les Warneford, was alsoon hand to congratulate the colleagues, whocome from Carlisle, Chorley, Kendal,Morecambe, Preston and West Cumbria.

Cliff Lord was given a special mention onthe night as someone who, having reachedretirement age, agreed to continue workingfor the company in the Morecambe/Lancaster

area on special late night services fromLancaster University. His length of service isby far the highest ever recorded in the wholeStagecoach Group and his long service badgehad to be ‘made to order’.

Also of note was the first of two presenta-tions within a week to Chorley driver DouglasBailey who went on to receive the MBE fromHer Majesty The Queen shortly after the eventfor services to public transport in Lancashire.

Derbyshire45 years’ service – Tony Stacey,Chesterfield; Roy Talbot, Mansfield.40 years’ service – Brian Barnett,Chesterfield; Phillip Goodall, Mansfield.35 years’ service – Stephen Lilliman,John Cotton, John Heath, all Chesterfield;Alan Wilkinson, John Cordy, Gyula

Landek, David Hardy, all Mansfield.30 years’ service – Trevor Hubbard,Anthony Herberts, David Booth, allChesterfield; Sheila Harrison, Head Office;Rodney Booth, Mansfield.25 years’ service – John Lake, WilliamMann, Lesley Grozier, Melville Mason,Phillip Simpson, all Chesterfield; ValerieAnswer, Graham Geliher, Derek Davidge,all Mansfield; Harry Price, Betty Hatton, IanWhalley, Gerald Brown, all Worksop.

Gallacher, Cliff Laing, RoselynReid, Robert Mitchell, BrianMcDonald, Scott McIntosh andWilma SmithPerth Engineering Staff:Calum McGregor and RobertPetrieAberdeen: William Watt, IanCabel, Ray Mitchell, DuncanBuchan.Stonehaven: Callum Adams,Ian McHardy. Peterhead: Derek Strachan,Angela Gibbon, DavidHandsley, Gregory Pearce, BrianHutchison.Elgin: Ian Fraser, StephenAlexander, Stanley Morrison.Inverness: Nadil Subah.Fife Engineering Staff: BobBell (Aberhill); William Bence(Glenrothes); David Catto(Aberdeen) and Alec Murray(Glenrothes).Fife Driving Staff: MikeBrewster (Glenrothes); JohnMorrison (Aberhill); HarryMcDonald (Dunfermline): SteveMcLaren (St Andrews): DannyMcMullan (St Andrews); BrianRadcliffe (Dunfermline); GeorgeSmith (Cowdenbeath) and ClarkWatson (Aberhill).

Summer 200512

Congratulations go to Tony Gibbons,a driver from Newcastle’s Walkergatedepot, for being selected as a finalistin the Public Transport Employee ofthe Year competition, held by theNewcastle Evening Chronicle.

Tony, a Stagecoach driver since1993, was nominated for his commit-ment and exceptional customer focus.He drives the AD122 Hadrian’s Wall

service and has made a big impact,recently attending a promotional dayinvolving the Hadrian’s Wall bus.

Commenting on Tony’s profession-alism, Simon Brooks, Hadrian’s WallTourism Partnership, said: “I wasextremely impressed by Tony’sknowledge, friendliness, willingnessto help and his commitment to theHadrian’s Wall bus.”

Tony, along with the otherfinalists, was invited to a specialawards lunch in July at NewcastleUnited Football Club, where thewinners were to be announced. Goodluck Tony!!

Customer commitment: Public TransportEmployee of the Year finalist Tony Gibbons withthe Hadrian’s Wall bus.

In the driving seat when itcomes to training is AliNicholson, Stagecoach’s firstfemale bus-driving instructor inthe South.

Ali joined the company atAldershot in 1999 as a traineedriver and has now qualified asa PSV instructor.

Graham Harmer, Operations

Manager for Stagecoach buses inAldershot, is delighted that Ali,who comes from the town, tookup the challenge.

“We are very proud of Ali’sachievement,” he added. “Shenow joins the team of 10 instruc-tors which trains an average of350 drivers each year.”

Aldershot is one of the

company’s busiest depots in thesouth. Forty-seven services areoperated in Hants and Surreyusing a fleet of 85 buses and ateam of 140 drivers – 11 ofwhom are women. The latestrecruit, trained by Ali, is BrendaPainter from Bordon who hasnow completed the six-weekdriver training course.

Stagecoach showed its support forthe anti-poverty rally in Edinburgh

in July by making available 1,000 sub-sidised seats on dedicated buses trav-elling north from London.

People keen to make their voices heard at the 6July rally could snap up a seat on one of the 12 north-bound megabus.com double-deckers for only £8return.

The convoy travelled to the Scottish capital thenight before the rally, arriving the morning of theevent. The buses returned south on the evening of 6July after the rally.

Brian Souter, Chief Executive of StagecoachGroup, said: “Having operated buses in Africa wehave seen, at first hand, the huge scale of the povertyproblem and the devastating effect of the Aidspandemic.

“We have consistently assisted health and orphanprojects for more than a decade and this year we aregiving £50,000 to help Ugandan orphan programmes.

“We support the objectives of the Make PovertyHistory coalition and Gordon Brown’s aid for tradeinitiative and we hope our offer of low-cost transportto the rally in Edinburgh has helped get the messageacross loud and clear.”

Stagecoach has worked with the Make PovertyHistory coalition to establish appropriate safety andsecurity measures. Dedicated stewards were on dutywhen passengers boarded the buses at GreenlineCoach Station in Victoria, London.

There was also a family-friendly travelling envi-ronment on board and no alcohol was permitted.

Stagecoach in Fife staff had a ball whenthey were treated to five-star hospitalityat Stark’s Park in Kirkcaldy.

Employees from Cowdenbeath andAberhill, the two depots with the topscoring Key Performance IndicatorReports for April, won the chance to seeFife side Raith Rovers tackle ScottishLeague rivals Hamilton Accies.

The prize, offered by OperationsDirector Doug Fleming, also included atour of the ground and a three-coursemeal in the Raith Suite before the match.

Stagecoach has supported localfootball throughout the past year bysponsoring the Raith Rovers YouthDevelopment Team.

The lucky team included David

Watson (Supervisor, Cowdenbeath),Colin Clarke, (Supervisor,Cowdenbeath), Jackie Ferguson(Administration, Cowdenbeath), CliffLow (Driver, Cowdenbeath), PeteWilders (Driver, Cowdenbeath) and JimFitzimmons (Supervisor, Aberhill).

Megabus helpsanti-poverty rally

Stagecoachtops LondonleagueStagecoach in London has come topof the Freight Transport Association’s(FTA) league for the second consec-utive year.

FTA inspectors carried out 1683vehicle inspections across the sixmajor operating companies inLondon (Stagecoach, First, Arriva,Go-Ahead, Metroline and LondonUnited) in 2004 and the averagenumber of penalty points per buswas eight.

Around 310 inspections wereconducted within StagecoachLondon, where the average penaltyper bus was 5.6. Bow topped thechart with only 3.7 points pervehicle.

Peter Sumner, EngineeringDirector, said: “This demonstratesthe pride that we take in our vehiclesand the importance placed uponpassenger comfort by our team ofengineers.”

The FTA represents the transportinterests of companies moving goodsby road, rail, sea and air.

Inspections are carried out everymonth and assessments are based onthe number of vehicles at eachgarage.

Each inspection covers ramps,brakes, fuel, bodywork, electrical,tyres, chassis as well as cleanlinessand Transport for London’s statutorynotices.

Ali leads the way in training

A match made in heaven … for Raith fans

Caption: David Watson receives a signed football.

If you have been up to something innovative in your local communitythen we’d like to hear about it.

Your On Stage contact is listed on p2.

A taleto tell?

Dedicated to the cause of customer service

On the road to success: Ali Nicholson (third from left) with some of Aldershot depot’s other female drivers, congratulates newdriver Brenda Painter.

by Steven Stewart

New boss for Ashford

Former Royal Marine Mark Spratthas been appointed OperationsManager for the Ashford region.

Mark, from Deal, is nowresponsible for the 56 drivers,engineers and administrationpersonnel who operateStagecoach’s fleet of 22 buses inthe region.

His career began on the buseseight years ago before he waspromoted to NVQ Assessor andthen to Assistant Manager andDepot Manager at the company’sCanterbury and Dover operations.

Paul Southgate, RegionalManaging Director of Stage-coach, was delighted with thenews.

He said: “Having started as adriver Mark understands the dailyproblems faced by his team. Hehas what it takes to ensure thatthe important commuter andregional services we provide inthe Ashford area are operatedefficiently.”

Mark is gearing up for new challenges atAshford.

Stagecoach marked 25 years at thefrontier of transport with a week of

celebrations in Scotland for the staffand community that have helped drivethe company’s success.

The business was launched in Perth in1980 by Chief Executive Brian Souter and hissister, Ann Gloag, with just two buses. Aquarter of a century later, it is now an inter-national transport group with 30,000employees in the UK, United States, Canadaand New Zealand.

A special marquee was built on BrianSouter’s estate at Ochtertyre near Crieff,Perthshire, in June for a number of events tomark the milestone..

“We have come a long way in 25 years,but we have never forgotten our roots inPerth or the people that have helped ourbusiness get to where we are today,” saidBrian.

“We wanted to do something for our staffand for the community to mark thismilestone and to say a big thank you for thepart they have played in the Stagecoachsuccess story.”

More than 300 people attended a longservice and retirement awards evening whenstaff with 25 years service or more wererecognised at a special dinner followed bymusic and an impressive fireworks display.

One of the highlights of the celebrationswas a family fun day for staff across thecompany. More than 2,000 employees, somefrom as far away as Devon, enjoyed all thefun of the fair as well as Robbie Williams andTina Turner sound-a-likes.

During the day, vintage buses ferried staffto and from the fun day attractions and therewas plenty of camaraderie during the day.One retired Perth driver recalled how he wasasked to pull his bus over into a layby byBrian Souter and transfer his passengersfrom a Volvo coach to a Bristol double deck.When the driver asked why the bus wasbeing changed, Brian replied that he hadsold the coach!

Around a dozen heritage vehicles rolledback the years in and around Perth tooperate on a number of routes to mark theanniversary. Passengers also got an addedbonus, with Stagecoach rolling back the costof a ticket to 1980 prices.

The buses – some more than 70 years old- were driven by volunteers from the ScottishVintage Bus Museum at Lathalmond in Fife,which has preserved dozens of old vehicles.

Among the historic vehicles in servicewere be HGM 335E - Bristol FLF, RCS -Leyland Tital PD3, UCS 659 - AlbionLowlander LRS, RAG 578 Daimler CVG6,DGS - Leyland PS1, PC1 - Leyland RoyalTiger, HDV 639E Bristol MW, FRD 199 -Bristol Lodekka, EVA 324 - Guy Arab, andGVD 47 - Guy Arab.

The marquee at Ochtertyre was also thevenue for the 2005 Scottish BusinessAchievement Award Trust charity fund-raising lunch, attended by TransportSecretary Alistair Darling and trust patron thePrincess Royal.

Guests from the world of business,transport and politics attended a formal

25 YEARS AT THEFRONTIER OFTRANSPORT

SilverJubilee Special1980-2005

Stagecoach 25th anniversary dinner. Waitingstaff at the dinner got into the transporttheme of the evening, dressing up as“clippies” and train conductors. Guests werealso treated to some traditional Scottishmusic as well as a youth jazz band and theWatoto Choir from a children’s orphanage inUganda, before the evening was rounded off

Stagecoach pays tribute to everyone who made the journey possible

Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Brian Souter with members of the Watoto Choir from Uganda.

by Steven Stewart with a spectacular fireworks display.Many things have changed over the past

quarter of a century, but one thing hasstayed the same: the 2.5 million customersthat trust Stagecoach to get to their destina-tion every day are still getting great value formoney.

Brian received an interesting gift fromAlan McNight of Hyde Road depot, whichwas an original 25 year old poster advertis-ing inter-city coach services. On examina-

tion it showed that the earlier Glasgow toLondon express coach service had a fare of£6.75, 40% cheaper than the Scottish BusGroup’s fare of £11 (more than £40 in today’sprices). Some 25 years later, megabus.comcustomers can now make the same trip forjust £1. Even the average megabus.com fareon that trip is just £8, marginally more thanthe price was in 1980. This is clear evidencethat Stagecoach continues to deliver afford-able transport.

25 YEARS AT THE FRONTIER

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PICTURE KEY

1 ON SONG: Attendees at the Long ServiceAwards enjoyed a special song, courtesy ofGeorge Williamson.

2 CONGRATULATIONS: Stagecoach GroupChairman Robert Speirs with companyfounders Brian Souter and Ann Gloag.

3 LOYALTY HONOURED: Some of the dedicatedStagecoach staff recognised at the LongService Awards.

4 BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT: The Princess Royalwith Brian Souter at the Scottish BusinessAchievement Award lunch held at Ochtertyre.

5 SETTING THE STAGE: Ochtertyre House, thevenue for a number of events to markStagecoach’s 25th anniversary.

6 TAKE A BOW: The Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestraentertains guests at the 25th anniversarybanquet.

7 JUBILEE BANQUET: First Minister JackMcConnell and his wife, Bridget, chat toguests at the 25th anniversary banquet.

8 ALL THAT JAZZ: music was also provided bythe South Ayrshire Jazz Band.

9 CLOWNING AROUND: two of the many perform-ers at the Stagecoach Family Fun Day.

10 DEDICATION: Bluebird employees Patricia Durno(30 years’ service) and James Wallace (38years’ service) were among staff presentedwith awards by Brian Souter.

11 TARTAN TOUCH: Comrie Pipe Band entertainedthe 2,000 staff and their families whoattended the fun day.

12 SMILE: Youngsters from all over the countryenjoyed the Family Fun Day entertainment.

13 MARKING THE OCCASION: Inside the marquee,specially erected for the celebrations.

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STAGECOACH 25THANNIVERSARY BOOK

WIN your copy of the

A new book has been produced to mark 25 yearsof Stagecoach – and we have 20 copies to giveaway in our latest On Stage competition.

The hardback book, written by transport jour-nalist Doug Jack, charts the history of thecompany from its foundations in Perth in 1980through to the present day.

Full of glossy colour photography fromStagecoach’s bus and rail operations around theglobe, the book also features a foreword from co-founder and Group Chief Executive Brian Souter.

As well as covering the businesses thecompany has bought and sold over the pastquarter of a century, the book contains manyamusing anecdotes from the past 25 years.

For your chance to win a copy, just answer thefollowing question:

In what city and year wasStagecoach founded?

Send your answers on a postcard to:

The EditorOn Stage Stagecoach Group10 Dunkeld RoadPerthPH1 5TW

The closing date for entries is August 31, 2005 andthe Editor’s decision is final. Good luck!

ALL THE FUN OF THEFAIR (right):

Families from asfar away as Devon

travelled toOchtertyre for the

special fun day.

ROLLING BACK THE YEARS: a dozen vintagevehicles made special journeys in and aroundPerth to say thank-you to the local community